Free Republic

The Avenues gang and Mexican Mafia may have assassinated Los Angeles County Deputy Abel Escalante as "payback for the spectacular LAPD shootout on Drew Street in June 2008 that forced the closure of local streets, caused the evacuation of two nearby public schools — and left AK-47–wielding menace Danny 'Clever' Leon bloodied and dead in the street": Deputy Escalante had nothing to do with LAPD’s killing of Leon last year. The 27-year-old officer most likely heard about it on the news, like everyone else. But, federal prosecutors believe, Escalante died for it. Seeking revenge, the dead man’s friends months later...

In one case, an innocent man died in gang’s 3 tries to kill target It was not the first time a rival tried to kill Mexican drug cartel-connected gangster Santiago “Chago” Salinas, but it would be the last. When 28-year-old Salinas was shot in the head at point-blank range three years ago at the Baymont Inn & Suites hotel on the Gulf Freeway, it was the latest round in a deadly feud that has played out here and in Mexico. Just a few weeks before, Salinas' brother-in-law who also had lived in Houston, was found dead, charred in a barrel...

Organizers of a vigil against the mistreatment of federal detainees called for the closure of the nation's largest immigration detention center known as “Tent City” in Raymondville. The vigil was held by some one hundred people from across Texas Friday evening. The privately-operated prison in Willacy County houses some 3,000 immigrants. Some of them have turned to Action 4 News to sound off on allegations of horrendous conditions, sexual assaults, rotten food and poor medical care inside the facility. Vigil organizers, some from as far away as Austin and Laredo, said the inhumane treatment of detainees must be stopped. “We...

Twelve bodies were discovered in the western Mexican state of Guerrero today. Ten were beheaded and mutilated in the latest drug war killings. The bodies of two men were found in the trunk of a car just a few hundred feet from one of the most famous attractions in Acapulco. In another part of the state, drug hit men killed, beheaded and mutilated the bodies of ten rivals and left the bodies in plastic bags in a delivery truck. One of the messages said, "The familia doesn't kill innocent people." More than 14-thousand people have died in drug-related violence since...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 2009 AT 6:09 PM Catching Up With DoD Posted by Molly Fedick Roxie Merritt, Director of Community Relations and Public Liaison at the Department of Defense, reports back from the Alliance of Youth Movements. She is down there with four members of her team, where she's been meeting with leaders from all over the world, all of whom have found success employing social networking tools in their businesses and organizations. Taking a break from the Mexico sunshine (the conference is in Mexico City), she...

Check out Mohamed Bary's missing immigration documents. Mr. Bary lost his application for amnesty. He lost his appeal for reconsideration of the administrative law judge's denial of that amnesty application, (or, application for change of status to temporary resident legal alien, to be more precise.) Mohamed Bary made contradictory allegations as to his residency, and he obviously committed perjury. He and his family are subject to immediate deportation and further exclusion. He claimed he came to America to tend to Rifqa's eye, when in fact he came illegally through Mexico (according to the document) and the "doting" father never got...

Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugs) has uncovered some explosive information about Mohamed Bary, the father of the most famous convert from Islam to Christianity, Rifqa Bary -- who fled from her father's home after she says he threatened to kill her for her apostasy. It seems that the Barys are in the U.S. illegally, and that Mohamed Bary has sworn to contradictory statements on his visa applications -- in other words, he has clearly committed perjury. The family could therefore be deported, with Rifqa -- which would leave her at the mercy of the Islamic community in Sri Lanka, many of...

So will it spill further into Texas? Absolutely, says the drug smuggler. "It will in the future. It will escalate, escalate and continue to escalate," he said. What does he think about us reporting from Juarez? "You might as well write your last will and testament," he said. "There is no guarantee you're coming back."

(CNSNews.com) - Nearly 70 percent of Mexicans surveyed said that Mexican-Americans – including those born in the United States – owe their primary loyalty to Mexico, not the U.S., according to a Zogby poll commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies. “In Mexico, Mexicans overwhelmingly – especially those who have family here (in the U.S. )– overwhelmingly say that it (amnesty) would encourage illegal immigration in the future.”

Tultitlan, Mexico - Gathered below an overpass on Independence Avenue, dressed in the multiple layers typical of homeless travelers, the migrants watched for the next northbound freight train through Tultitlan. Many of them, mostly young men and boys, prepared to hop aboard, hobo-style, on an ever-more-precarious trip that might get them as far as the United States. The treatment of immigrants has become a divisive and embarrassing issue for Mexico. A country that has historically sent millions of its own people to the U.S. and elsewhere in search of work, Mexico has proved itself less than hospitable to Central Americans...

Several groups of illegal immigrants from China have been arrested in southern Arizona in recent days, part of an increasing trend that U.S. Border Patrol agents said Monday was being fed by smugglers recruiting tourists to Central and South America. The arrests included two Chinese found among a large group of migrants who entered the county from Mexico on Friday. Three more Chinese were found Saturday, a group that included four Chinese was captured Sunday and four more were arrested early Monday

"Deadliest city in the world" JUAREZ, Mexico -- The drug violence in Juarez, Mexico, just across the Texas border, is growing worse. So far this month, nearly 100 people have been killed. The city now holds the infamous title of "deadliest city in the world." Eyewitness News Anchor Art Rascon traveled to Juarez and he has a closer look at the violence in the region. The world sees Juarez as repeated scenes of bloodshed where drug cartels rule. On any given night, as we drive the back streets of Juarez, they are eerily empty. The main streets are filled with...

MEXICO CITY — The United States should reinstate a Clinton-era ban on assault weapons to prevent such guns from reaching Mexican drug cartels, former officials from both countries said in a report released Tuesday. The group, which includes two former U.S. ambassadors to Mexico, also said the U.S. should do more to stop the smuggling of firearms and ammunition into Mexico by stepping up investigations of gun dealers and more strictly regulating gun shows. The Binational Task Force on the United States-Mexico Border listed the assault weapons ban as a step the U.S. should take immediately to improve security in...

A new survey by Zogby International finds that people in Mexico think that granting legal status to illegal immigrants in the United States would encourage more illegal immigration to the United States. As the top immigrant-sending country for both legal and illegal immigrants, views on immigration in Mexico can provide insight into the likely impact of an amnesty, as well as other questions related to immigration. Among the findings: * A clear majority of people in Mexico, 56 percent, thought giving legal status to illegal immigrants in the United States would make it more likely that people they know would...

Mexican indicted in deadly crash CONROE – A Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted an illegal alien on manslaughter charges last Thursday in the July 26 death of a Conroe woman in a midday, head-on collision on FM 3083 at Willis Waukegan Rd. (east side) and Texaco Rd. (west side). Carlos Solis Gomez, 24, of Conroe was driving a Ford 150 pickup southbound when investigators say he passed in a curve (a no passing zone) and collided head-on with a northbound Toyota Corolla driven by Dorothy Ann Gardner of Conroe. After a lengthy extrication by the Grangerland Fire Department, medics transported...

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Border Patrol agents said Monday that several groups of illegal immigrants from China have been arrested in southern Arizona in recent days. The arrests included two Chinese found among a large group of migrants who entered the county from Mexico on Friday. Three more Chinese were found on Saturday, a group that included four Chinese was captured on Sunday and four more were arrested early Monday. Border Patrol agent Colleen Agle says the arrests are part of a trend that has seen increasing numbers of Chinese migrants trying to sneak into the U.S. from Mexico.

WASHINTON, D.C. - Members of the nonprofit organization LUPE are in Washington lobbying for immigration reform. Members from the Alton office traveled to Washington, D.C. over the weekend and will be at the capital for the rest of the week. They will speak with lawmakers and meet with legislators to push for an immigration reform bill. Last week, the group's Alton offices were robbed. Police say thieves stole the organization's air conditioning unit for the copper and aluminum. The thieves are still wanted at this hour.

EL PASO -- Cities across the nation are gearing up for a rally in support of immigration reform and a Borderland organization plans to join nationwide efforts. Officials with the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) will be in Washington D.C. next week to educate officials about what they feel are necessary immigration policies. "If [reform] doesn't happen between now and March, it's probably not going to happen until 2011," said Zelene Pineda, with BNHR. "Since next year is an election year, we need to put pressure on D.C. now." It's been several months since president Barack Obama really pushed...

Millions of dollars in federal money is now headed to the organization known as the Teaching and Mentoring Communities. TMC, formerly known as the Texas Migrant Council, has received more than 10 million in federal funds for their Migrant Seasonal Head Start, and Early Head Start Programs. Additionally, the funding will be used to purchase modular buildings, repair existing facilities, and provide additional staff development training. All the money will benefit Webb, Zapata, and Starr counties.

Whirlpool Corp.'s division in Mexico has announced it will build a $55 million plant in the northern city of Apodaca, employing 1,100 people. That number may sound familiar. The appliance maker announced in August it was shutting down its Evansville manufacturing line in mid-2010 and moving it to Mexico. Evansville's line employs 1,100 people. Jill Saletta, director of external relations for Whirlpool, confirmed in a statement Friday that the jobs being created in Apodaca are those from the Evansville plant. "As announced in August, the production of refrigerators currently made at Evansville, and the 1,110 jobs associated with that production,...

Recent reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may cut back on the number of Border Patrol agents along the southern border have made U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, John McCain and John Kyl of Arizona and several others very nervous. Nervous enough to write DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano a letter, asking for reassurance that no such cuts are being planned. “ we would like you to confirm that the current strength of 17,415 agents will be maintained or increased in fiscal year 2010,” the letter reads. Hopefully the reports of border agent cutbacks...

Chicago Tour Bus Used To Move Pot, Cash NationwideBy TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press Writer Oct 6, 2009 6:31 pm US/Central CHICAGO (AP) - The purple tour bus rumbled toward Arizona. On board were 15 passengers, all promised $1,000 and a hotel stay. Stuffed into the luggage compartments, in four black duffel bags, was $1.4 million. Trailing the bus were Wisconsin Department of Justice agents, heading straight into a case that reads like a crime novel. A Detroit drug lord named Adarus Mazio Black was using the tour bus to smuggle his cash and dope across the country and was so...

Thursday, 10/8/09 La Prensa Grafica (San Salvador, El Salvador) 10/7/09 Homicides in El Salvador The month of September closed with a daily average of 13 homicides in El Salvador. Now, the National Police reports that there have been 83 homicides in the country during the first five days of October, a daily average of 16. [El Salvador is slightly smaller than Massachusetts] The following is the first portion of today’s main editorial, titled, “Homicides, a seemingly unstoppable plague”. “The immediate and constant effect of having done nothing really substantial to bring to a halt the wave of homicidal criminality that...

TIJUANA, Mexico — The mutilated body of a state official who authorities said was suspected of giving fake driver's licenses to drug gang members was found hanging from a bridge Friday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana. Relatives identified the man as Rogelio Sanchez, a Baja California state official in charge of driver's licenses, said Prisma Perez, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office. Sanchez, 44, was kidnapped Wednesday as he left his home in Tijuana. "The investigation indicates he had been giving licenses to organized crime," Perez said. His body was found hanging from the Morelio bridge...

Is the recently released domain extension for the country of Mexico (.MX) worth investing in or is it just another effort to make money by the domain registrars?

Unidentified assailants kidnapped and killed the top official of the border town of Palomas, across from New Mexico, on Thursday. Town Mayor Estanislao Garcia Santelis had long complained about the drug traffickers and migrant smugglers active around Palomas. Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in northern Chihuahua state, said Garcia Santelis' bullet-riddled body was found near a burned-out pickup truck and bore signs of torture. Palomas made headlines in 2008 when its police chief sought asylum in the U.S. after his deputies abandoned him and he received death threats. The Mexican army subsequently took over law enforcement in...

Prosecutors say a gun battle between gangs fighting for control of an area near Mexico's border with Guatemala has left seven people dead. Two women are hospitalized with injuries suffered in the attack in a rural part of Chiapas state. The women apparently belonged to one of the gangs. Chiapas' Attorney General's Office said Tuesday that gunmen dressed in black attacked rivals in an area where the Zetas drug gang is active.

Four suspected kidnappers who allegedly posed as drug cartel members when demanding ransoms have been killed in a prison fight in northern Mexico. The four had been ordered to stand trial last week, and one of them said he feared for his life. Authorities say the four had posed as members of a notorious cartel hit squad, the Zetas.

Three accused human smugglers faced a judge after they allegedly used Jet Skis to smuggle at least 11 illegal immigrants at Boca Chica Beach. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Anthony Rodriguez, Andy Rodriguez and Beatriz Manzano-Luna on immigrant smuggling charges over the weekend. A criminal complaint reveals that U.S. Coast Guard officials first spotted two Jet Skis being used to smuggle immigrants across the Rio Grande on Friday. The alleged smugglers allegedly ferried the immigrants to a nearby bay where three cars were waiting. Court records show that Manzano-Luna was arrested loading a Jet Ski onto an SUV trailer but...

HIDALGO — Autoworkers from Michigan shouted for an end to free trade Monday afternoon on the Mexican-American border, where relaxed trade restrictions have fostered rampant economic growth. As the 18 or so members of the Local 174 of the United Auto Workers union from Romulus, Mich. waved signs at drivers approaching the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, maquiladora workers in Mexico gathered on a street corner to protest what they say is an unfair dismissal of workers. At one point during the concurrent protests, two American autoworkers crossed the bridge to meet and support the maquiladora workers, in a gesture of conciliation...

At least five people have been shot to death in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, according to state prosecutors. Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutors' office, said Monday that the victims ranged in age from 25 to 30 in the attack at Gabino's bar. Prosecutors have not established a motive for the killings, the Associated Press reported. Ciudad Juarez has been named the country's deadliest city, with more than 1,700 killings so far this year linked to drug-related violence. Also on Monday, gunmen killed two state police officers in the city of Iguala in...

Note: The following text is a quote: Major Executive Speeches Robert S. Mueller, III Director Federal Bureau of Investigation International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference Denver, Colorado October 5, 2009 Good morning. As always, it is good to be here. I have been coming to the IACP since 2001. Year after year, I look out at all of you, and I ask myself the same question. Could I handle the challenges you face, day after day? Could I do the jobs you do with the same success? And the answer is no, for one simple reason: I could...

Several families were trapped inside a fast food restaurant during a weekend shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals. The 40-minute standoff happened near a Carl's Jr. restaurant along the highway to Monterrey. Families ducked for cover as bullets penetrated the restaurant's glass and hit parts of the playground. A white SUV from the suspects was seized at the scene. Action 4 News has posted RAW VIDEO taken during and after the shootout. Victor Castillo will have full report during Action 4 News at 6 p.m.

The fast-talking and well-dressed Texas customs broker has arrived at the Treasury Department twice in recent years with luggage stuffed with crusty, grimy greenbacks. The money was ruined, he said, and worth about $6.4 million. The broker wanted to exchange the soiled bills, unearthed in Mexico, for a U.S. government check. But the transactions raised alarms for authorities... Felhaber first came onto authorities' radar in August 2005, when he, his uncle and a female relative appeared at the Federal Reserve Bank in El Paso. They had $120,000 in water-damaged and ruined cash, just a small portion of millions of dollars...

Note: The following text is a quote: Home » Briefing Room » Justice News Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden Speaks at Project Gunrunner Press Conference HOUSTON ~ Thursday, October 1, 2009 Good morning. I am happy to be here today with ATF Acting Director Melson and our partners in state and local law enforcement to highlight the real successes of Project Gunrunner and announce our plans to build upon those accomplishments. This administration and this Justice Department have made protecting the integrity of our Southwest Border a top priority. That means stemming the tide of illegal drugs and illegal...

RIO GRANDE VALLEY - Federal agents are disrupting cross-border gun smuggling, and they're focusing on the Valley. After a four month intense effort to stop gun smuggling, ATF agents are pinpointing the smugglers and tips are leading them to our border. 100 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms sifted through leads and after a four month special operation, they identified gun smugglers working for the gulf cartel. Armando Salas, Assistant Special Agent in Charge says, "Our goal is to try and disrupt the firearm and trafficking infrastructure both on the Mexican side and on the U.S. side."...

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The number of deaths at unauthorized U.S.-Mexico border crossings must be recognized as an international humanitarian crisis, a civil liberties group said. U.S., Mexican and international officials must respond to the deaths with reforms that make human life a priority, a report released Wednesday by American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights said. The report, "Humanitarian Crisis: Migrant Deaths at the U.S.-Mexico Border," found that border deaths have increased despite fewer unauthorized crossings because of the economic downturn, the ACLU said in a news...

WESLACO - New recommendations to keep our borders safe and commerce moving are heading to the Homeland Security Secretary. The list of 19 recommendations comes from the Home Security Advisory Council. The recommendations includes hiring more customs officers, checking traffic heading south at the U.S. - Mexico border, improving communication with Mexican law enforcement, and improving infrastructure at some ports of entry. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino is head of the task force's border security sub-group. He spoke about some of their goals in a phone conference where the recommendations were presented. Sheriff Trevino wants to "Continue to work closely...

Note: The following text is a quote: September 30, 2009 O'Hare Airport temporary staffing employees sentenced for harboring illegal aliens who were given access to secure areas Assisted illegal workers in obtaining unauthorized airport security badges CHICAGO - The owner of a Bensenville temporary employment agency and her assistant were sentenced in federal court Wednesday for harboring illegal aliens and assisting those workers in obtaining unauthorized access to secure areas at O'Hare International Airport, including the tarmac. The sentences resulted from a multi-agency federal investigation conducted in 2007 and led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mary Gurin, 38,...

At approximately 2 a.m. on Sept. 25, a small improvised explosive device (IED) consisting of three or four butane canisters was used to attack a Banamex bank branch in the Milpa Alta delegation of Mexico City. The device damaged an ATM and shattered the bank's front windows. It was not an isolated event. The bombing was the seventh recorded IED attack in the Federal District - and the fifth such attack against a local bank branch - since the beginning of September. The attack was claimed in a communique posted to a Spanish-language anarchist Web site by a group calling...

Going back to Mexico is not an option, said the 43-year-old man, kneeling next to his wife's wheelchair.His wife, 45, lost her eyesight to diabetes. She also has high blood pressure. And her kidneys are failing. For years, he has taken her to a dialysis clinic attached to a public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The facility that gave her free care plans to close Saturday. They are illegal immigrants with no health insurance and, they say they have nowhere to go for his wife's vast medical needs. The closing clinic offered to help return them to Mexico...the latest known case...

A U.S. tourist got more then he bargained for when he was attacked by a crocodile while attempting to answer the call of nature in the Mexican resort of Cancun this week. According to Mexican police 20-year-old Andrew Dales, from Dallas in Texas, confessed that he had been on a mission to relieve himself at the edge of the local Nicupté lagoon , in the popular tourist resort of Cancun, when the crocodile suddenly snapped at him. He suffered ‘multiple bite wounds’ to his leg and neck and was also left with a head injury after the reptile knocked him...

GUERRERO VIEJO, Mexico — As soon as he stepped onto the mud shore below the church ruins, Eric Ellman could visualize the party. The racers would storm across the Rio Grande, landing their kayaks and canoes to the cheers of fans lining the streets of this 200-year-old, half-sunken and abandoned town now exposed by a drought-lowered lake. After an awards ceremony in front of the church’s cleaned-up facade, camps would be set up. A band would play. Where cows now stood, couples would dance under a star-studded sky. The Rio Grande again would be a uniting element, not just a...

After nearly six years in the making, Matamoros’ first wastewater treatment plant was inaugurated Tuesday. The treatment facility, which will clean contaminated water and pump it into the Rio Grande, is the result of a $33 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) donated through the North American Development Bank (NADB), a $10 million loan from the NADB, and $33 million more in funding from the government of Mexico. Though the $76 million facility has been in operation for nearly a year, the inauguration ceremony had been put off several times. The lineup of speakers at the ceremony...

Note: Photo included. "2 Canadians slain in Mexico tied to drug trade: police 3 gunmen believed responsible for shootings" Last Updated: Monday, September 28, 2009 | 9:56 PM ET The Associated Press SNIPPET: "Gang investigators in British Columbia say two men gunned down in Mexico were involved in the drug trade, and had been on the radar of gang investigators before they were found shot to death in a Puerto Vallarta condo complex."

Nuevo Laredo authorities arrest a group of alleged kidnappers that posed as members of the Zetas. The group had already kidnapped three people and was arrested by state police and Mexican soldiers. All seven including three women were involved in the kidnappings. According to police they would research their victims and their families and ask them for ransom money. When authorities made the arrests they were able to rescue their latest victim. Authorities also confiscated two weapons and six vehicles used in the kidnappings.

NEAR ALTON — A drunken dispute over a small debt led to a Mexican national's fatal shooting Saturday, authorities said. Two Mexican nationals have been arrested in connection to the crime. The duo was charged with murder at an arraignment Monday afternoon. Deputies responded to a call of a man's body that lay in a ditch about 4 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of 10 Mile Line and Texan roads, according to a Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office statement. Authorities identified the body as David Bello Crisolis, an illegal immigrant from Veracruz, Ver., Mexico. His age is unknown. Deputies said Crisolis...

For the first time, the decennial census will be distributed in the two languages to 13.5 million households in predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. Latino advocates hope the forms will lead to a more accurate count by winning over the trust of immigrants who are often wary of government and may be even more fearful after the recent surge in immigration raids and deportations.

Two B.C. men living in Mexico have been gunned down poolside in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans were executed at dawn Sunday, according to news reports, outside the condo where they were staying in the seaside city. Graphic photos of the two lying in pools of blood beside a vehicle and a gun were displayed in the online publication Noticias Puerto Vallarta. Ivans, who had a drug conviction in Kamloops in 2002, is wearing a blood-streaked "Hockey Hall of Fame" T-shirt. Kendall is shirtless and wearing a pair of khaki shorts. Friends...

Police are looking for a man convicted of an Arlington rape more than 10 years ago in connection with the recent rape an 11-year-old girl in Oklahoma City. Melvin Urbina, 33, was sentenced to two years in prison for the 1998 sexual assault of an Arlington woman. He was deported to Mexico after his release in 2001. He returned to the United States illegally and worked in Oklahoma City. Police want to question Urbina about the July 25 sexual assault of a girl who was trying to find some extra chairs for the guests at her godfather’s wedding anniversary party...